In a significant development, Vonage has settled down the two years old patent dispute with Sprint Nextel and agreed to pay nearly $80 million. They have now reached out a new agreement under which Vonage would use Sprint patents for its VoIP services. Off $80 million, $35 million is for the past use of the license, $40 million for a fully-paid future license and $5 million in prepayment for services. Vonage will now access to Sprint VoIP portfolio that includes more than 100 patents covering different methods, components and systems required for residential VoIP services. Vonage said, We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Sprint and enter into a productive future relationship. We believe this deal is good news for Vonage, our customers and our shareholders. Earlier, Vonage was ordered to pay Sprint $69.5 million in damages for infringing six patents. A jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, issued the order on September 25th, 2007. The US-based residential VoIP player is yet to resolve its patent dispute with Verizon Communications.
Click2Voice joins free VoIP fray
The word ‘Free’ is always fascinating in the VoIP world. If it were not, we would have missed the free players after the stunning debacle of several free service providers in the market. Of late, I got to know about a small startup, Click2Voice, which is seeking its fortunes in the market. Any way, those who are looking for free VoIP service can try it, for at least 15 minutes. At the very outset, Click2Voice is a simple browser based calling service. First you need to open an account at the site. It is totally free. Don’t way, the registration process is very simple and takes few minutes. Once the registration is completed, you can proceed for the VoIP calls. The VoIP application is also simple. You just need to enter your phone number and number of your friend to whom you want to call. Then you must press the call menu. By doing so, you will be connected to the line. You are entitled to enjoy 15 minutes of free calls. If you want to call back your friend, you have to follow the same process. The service is now available in 30 countries in the Europe, Asia and America. Some of these countries are Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Christmas Island, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA. The company has restricted its free service in the above mentioned country. Thus, the outside customers can not access to Click2Voice service. In other words, both the phone numbers should fall under the listed countries. The company may extend its reach to other destinations if the free service clicks in the market. Image:
Get an emergency cash loan to help pay your VoIP bill
The entire telecom world depends on Internet phone service. A fast and reliable Internet phone service helps us stay connected with our friends and family. Communicating globally used to be a difficult affair a decade back. Technological advancements made it possible to make International calls at affordable rates. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology has revolutionized long distance communication. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a digital technology that allows users to make PC-to-PC calls, as well as PC-to-Mobile calls. International calls have always been expensive. Even the most cost-effective mobile phone plans charge 13-15 cents per minute for international calls. VoIP is a cost-effective solution to conventional phone calling. This technology even facilitates video conferencing functionality. What would you do if you receive a rather huge phone bill in the middle of a month, and you do not have cash to pay the bill? Probably, you would apply for emergency cash loans. Even better, you can switch over to VoIP technology. How to use VoIP? The first thing you would have to do is install VoIP software on your computer. You can also download the same on your mobile phone. The quality of VoIP services has improved significantly in recent times. Broadband usage has grown rapidly in the last few years. This has led to increased penetration of VoIP services in rural areas too. There are hundreds of VoIP providers competing with each other to provide affordable, quality VoIP services. Which is the most popular VoIP service that is available for free? Skype has become synonymous with VoIP and vice versa. Skype allows users to make Skype-to-Skype calls, as well as Skype-to-Phone calls. Users have to buy Skype minutes to make Skype-to-Phone calls. VoIP services are available in three different models- ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor), IP Phones, and PC-to-PC. What are the benefits of using Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP? Unlike your regular phone, VoIP offers you cool features like call holding, call forwarding, multiple voicemail, and do not disturb (DND). Moreover, VoIP providers provide amazing call quality to users.
Zimmermann, Atelier bring Zfone software for Symbian smartphones
Philip Zimmermann hardly needs any introduction. The name is very much familiar in the VoIP world. He has developed the most popular VoIP encryption protocols like ZRTP and Zfone. He is now working with Atelier to bring secure VoIP services for Symbian smartphones in line with his Zfone software. The Zfone software can automatically encrypt voice calls made over the Internet and turn Symbian smartphones into secure crypto phones. It will also ensure privacy of your voice communication by checking wiretapping or eavesdropping. Marc Menschenfreund, CEO of Atelier said, We’re seeing VoIP telephony’s stellar growth and acceptance in the mass market, but users do not realize their Internet calls are more likely and easily intercepted than with standard telephony. With Phil Zimmermann’s Zfone for Symbian OS, we’re bringing to the masses the same level of privacy to VoIP calls that PGP® brought to email. The unique feature of Zfone software is that, it can turn VoIP clients into secure phones by filtering the VoIP packets as they pass through the communications. It supports Windows, Mac and Linux. The Zfone software sets a cryptographic key agreement between the two parties during the communication. After that, it encrypts and decrypts the voice packets to make the VoIP calls secure. Via: Blognation
How can you save money by using voip?
In the current economic downturn, small and medium businesses are looking for every possible avenue to cut costs as they will be told during credit counseling, but many of them don’t even bother to consider using voip for their communication needs. VoIP can help them to operate more cheaply and efficiently. Here are some tips on how to cut costs using voip: #1) Find yourself a VoIP provider. Many of them will give you a free phone number along with free inbound calling. For a small fee, you can get to choose your phone number and your area code. You can either make a call through the headset on your PC or connect your phone to the PC with a special adapter. #2) Get a free hosted IP PBX service. There is a considerable range of services on offer, and it could save money because your existing PBX service provider is probably charging you a fee. #3) Get a free unified voice mail service. You can have all your calls forwarded from all your numbers, home or office, to a single voicemail box, and you would also simultaneously receive a text message on your smart phone. You will see the caller ID of the person who called, and you can respond appropriately with a phone call or a text message. #4) Use a voice instant message service to send voice IM messages instead of making a call. These are superior to text messages because you can let your feelings show and you are also saved the trouble of typing out the message. Use these where there is a one-way flow of information or data and you can save a considerable amount of money on your mobile phone bills. #5) Get yourself a dual mode mobile handset so that you can make free calls from Wi-Fi hotspots. You need to be equipped with the software to make these costs but software is easily downloadable.
Skype support will be available on PSP
PlayStation Portable or PSP will get Skype support soon. Whether it is good or bad for PSP owners is difficult to predict given the advantages and disadvantages of this communication software program. The definite advantage that gamers of popular games on PSP will enjoy is that now more gaming community networks will be setup centered on a particular game with more prompt voice interaction. If the video conferencing feature of Skype is included then there will be more fun with gamers actually getting the opportunity to see the facial expression of their fellow players who so long was satisfied with their avatars. Skype has been widely criticized for distributing bugs even fooling the seeming most secure firewalls. I hope PSP manufactures keep in their mind this problem before integrating Skype into their device. Source:g4tv Image:reallusion
Skype on PSP will look something like this
Hopefully every PlayStation lover knows that PSP is getting Skype in late January and if you don’t then you aren’t a fan enough. Anyhow, news is that here are pics of Skype on PSP (touted to be first ones). And hey along with Skype Sony is offering USB microphone that can be (have to be) used with Skype. This will cost $25 – $40 (hopefully with Mic included) Via: NewsInside
Which VOIP is right for your business?
In this day and age, a phone call is not necessarily just going to be routed a few blocks away, or to a partner on the other side of town. Nowadays, we all work with people who can span the country, or even the entire world. This past week, I personally have spoken with people on three different continents. And I could not have done so through a traditional land line telephone… unless I wanted to pay preposterous fees in order to do so. In this environment of world wide business, we need VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service as much as we need to find good broadband deals, if we’re going to get anything done. So let’s take a quick look at a few excellent VoIP providers, and think through which one might be best for your business’s needs. RingCentral Office. RingCentral is a service which permits your entire office to have a phone system, without installing any PBX hardware. Since there is no installation, there are also no set up costs to contend with – which is pretty good for a tight budget. And also, if you find the service isn’t the right fit, there is no contract. And not only that, you can connect multiple office locations to the same service. Or perhaps continuity is important to you. Not only does Nextiva offer unlimited local and long distance calling, but they also allow your business to keep its existing number – which is great for your die hard customers, who may have known your number for years. They even throw in some advanced features, such as an auto attendant, at no additional charge. Perhaps you want a phone system that actually teaches you how to make it customized to your exact needs. Aptela starts right out, giving you free webinars and information packets that tell you every detail of how to operate it.
Will Skypephone bring revolution in Mobile VoIP?
The wait is almost over. Huchison 3G or 3 has officially launched the keenly-waited Skypephone dubbed as 3 Skypephone in UK. Skypephone means built-in Skype functionality. Thus, as said earlier, the device must simplify the use of Skype VoIP. There is no doubt. Other countries like Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden will welcome the 3 Skypephone by the end of this year. The Skypephone brings free VoIP calls for the Skype users in UK. The mobile operator is not charging. However, the customers can enjoy 4,000 minutes of free calls in a month on 3′s network. They can enjoy incoming calls beyond that limit. If the customers are outside 3′s network, then roaming charge is applicable. The phone does not work in USA. With Skypephone, you can also make Skype Out calls. I mean Mobile to PC or Landline or any other phone. These calls are not free. Features: 1.Candy-bar style 2.Color: white and black 3.2-megapixel camera, 4.MPHuchison 3 player 5.Bluetooth connectivity 6.16M bytes of internal memory 7.Micro SD memory card. 8.Price: Just $102 Is it new beginning for MVoIP? MVoIP or Mobile over VoIP is a dichotomy (Read Vodafone, Orange). The mobile operators have always tried to maintain distance from VoIP. Huchison 3 has embraced Mobile VoIP. Who knows some other day, Vodafone may be romancing with VoIP!!! Image: Freealternative
AIM Call Out launched, is it AOL’s reentry into VoIP?
AOL has launched its AIM Calling Out service, using which the customers can make international calls to nearly 200 countries from their landline or mobile phones. It is of course a paying service and applicable to non-American customers only. Check out how much you need to pay for a per-minute call. You just need to download and install the latest AIM version to access the AIM Call Out service. There is no installation fee. Then, you need to enter the phone number of your foreign friend and then click the dial. It is very simple. In a nutshell, the AIM Call Out service is just like Jajah VoIP. In any case, AOL’s VoIP run has met premature death in the past. The last time, we have reported here shut down of Total Talk. Should the launch of AIM Call Out be considered as AOL’s reentry into VoIP market? Image: AOL